All Knights Stadium Team - Catchers
This week the focus turns to the catchers. Below are the five finalists for the best backstop in Knights Stadium history.
Rick Wilkins - Wilkins was the Charlotte Knights first-ever catcher in Knights Stadium history. During the team's inaugural season at Knights Stadium (1990) he was behind the plate on Opening Day and had the honor of catching the very first official pitch thrown at The Castle.
At the age of 23, the Jacksonville, FL native hit a team-high 17 home runs and had 71 RBIs for the Knights in 1990. Overall that season, he hit .227-17-71 in 127 games (449 AB). Rated as the #70 prospect by Baseball America before the 1990 season, Wilkins went on to have a successful Major League career. In 1993 with the Chicago Cubs, he launched a career-best 30 home runs and drove home a career-high 73 RBIs.
Matt Merullo -A product of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Merullo made his one and only Knights appearance during the 1994 season - and it was a good one. A native of Winchester, MA, Merullo hit .300 with 12 home runs and 75 RBIs for the Knights in 112 games that season. His 75 RBIs were second-best on the team to David Bell's 88 (Bell did appear in 22 more games). Merullo was also among the team leaders in runs scored (52) and hits (125) and led the team in triples with six. He went on to spend parts of six seasons in the Majors with the White Sox, Indians, and Twins.
Rob Natal - Natal hit 25 home runs over parts of three seasons for Charlotte. He made his Knights debut in 1995 and hit .314 with three home runs and 24 RBIs in 53 games. In 1997, the California native hit .267 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs over 79 games. A year later, the hard-hitting backstop posted a .273 batting average with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs. Natal was originally drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 13th round of the 1987 draft. He appeared in parts of six seasons in the 'Bigs with the Expos and Marlins.
Tyler Flowers - Originally drafted by his hometown Atlanta Braves, Flowers was traded to the White Sox organization on December 4, 2008 in the package that sent Javier Vazquez to Atlanta. He made his Knights debut in 2009 and appeared in just 31 games for the club - hitting .286 (30-105). A year later, he represented the Knights at the Triple-A All-Star Game in 2010 and hit 16 home runs with 53 RBIs for the club that season. In 2011, the Georgia native smashed 15 home runs with 32 RBIs in just 65 games. In parts of three seasons with the Knights, he accumulated 33 home runs and 98 RBIs. He is currently playing for the Chicago White Sox and will be looked at to fill in for the departed A.J. Pierzynski.
Josh Phegley - Nicknamed "Mr. Indiana" for his solid play in college while with Indiana University, Phegley made his Knights debut in 2011 and hit two home runs in 22 games for the team. His break-out campaign, however, came during the 2012 season. In April, he batted .382 (29-76) with a home run and nine RBIs over 19 games. His solid first-half play earned him a spot on the International League All-Star Team. In August, the former first-round pick of the White Sox hit .304 with five home runs and 15 RBIs over 18 games - his best month of the season. In all, Phegley hit .266 with six home runs and 48 RBIs for the Knights last year. At the end of the year, the Terre Haute, Indiana native was rewarded for his stellar defense with the MiLB Rawlings Gold Glove Award.